Fire And Brimstone
by DarthRushy
Summary: After bravely sacrificing himself for the town, Gold finds himself trapped in the Underworld with his father, living his worst nightmare: he is subject to the machinations of all those around him. Now at the crossroads of his own existence, he has to make the dreaded choice: hero or villain? Mid-season 3.
1. Chapter 1

_Mr. Gold gripped onto his father, eager to see both his vengeance fulfilled and his family saved. "You see, the only way for you to die... is we_ both _die! And now... now I'm ready!" He stabbed the "boy" with his dagger, cutting through his own flesh and blood. Pan fell limp in his hands, his life now bound to Gold's. This cut him off from the magic of Neverland that he had leeched off from for so long and in a pillow of black smoke, Gold found himself holding the man from his most distant memories, who went by the name of Malcolm._

 _"Hello, papa." He said._

 _Malcolm began shaking, though Gold couldn't discern whether it was out of fear or old age. "Rumple, please!" The man wheezed. "You can stop this. Remove the dagger!" He gave his son one final boyish grin. "We can start over. We can have a happy ending." Malcolm cackled._

 _"Ah, but I'm a villain." Gold retorted. "And villains don't get... happy endings." He twisted the dagger in his father's back and for one moment, let go of all his regrets and fears, indulging in one moment of love for his father._

* * *

Beep!

Gold twitched.

Beep!

Not yet ready to open his eyes, he tested his fingers.

Beep!

Still alive?

Beep!

Mr. Gold sighed and opened his eyes. He was in the Storybrooke hospital ward, in bed. In a moment of confusion, he simply uttered his innermost desire: "Could someone please turn that noise off?"

A nurse approached him with a notepad. "Hello." She said, flashing an apologetic smile. "Can I please have your name?"

Gold gave him an incredulous look. He'd thought that news of him had travelled to every house in town by now. Still somewhat shaken, his thoughts briefly shifted to imagine whether the post office had written articles on him since the curse broke.

"Mr. Gold. I... need talk to the mayor... or the sheriff? Someone in charge."

The nurse nodded. "There's someone in line already to meet you. I'll tell them you're awake."

As soon as the nurse was out of sight, Gold pushed the covers off the bed and with some magic, created a brand-new suit for himself to wear. He then corrected the covers and walked gently to the window near his bed, pushing the curtains aside to have a good look outside. The picture he was presented with caused him to stagger back in shock.

"Something wrong with the view, dear?" A voice he had hoped never to hear again said in a saccharine tone. He turned around to face Cora, wearing the same plain clothes she'd died in, a result of his own plotting as he now sharply recalled.

"Cora." Gold said. "Truly between the fire and brimstone now, am I? I'd be careful if I were you, dear, I've found that my magic is very much intact."

Cora's smile only deepened. "In more than one way."

"Yeah, and what does that mean?"

"It means that I had to pull in quite a few favors to get a hold of this..." Cora pulled the Dark One's dagger out of her sleeve, still bearing the name Rumplestiltskin. "But it was all worth it. In this world, we're going to do this things my way."

* * *

Gold scoffed. "This is the Underworld, Cora. What possible use could I be to you? After all, you can't kill a man twice."

"I can do something much worse than that." She replied. "You see, Rumple, you're not really dead dead yet. This world, this... town, exists for people with unfinished business, such as we villains. That means that something is keeping your soul in the halfway point. Death is a finality you are not yet ready to accept."

Gold let out a small, disbelieving chuckle. "Well, now I know you're lying. You see, unlike you, whose last words, if I recall were positively dripping with what could have been, I died as myself, no more and no less. I gave my life for those I care about. No regrets."

"Oh please, Rumple, you're the most regretful man ever born." Cora rolled her eyes. "But if you really think you're ready to move on, then so be it." She threw her hand in the air and enveloped herself and Gold in a teleportation spell, which took them to an underground cavern filled with smoke and flames. A small platform extended above the fires of damnation below.

Sensing a shadow of the hatred and eternal misery below, Gold staggered back from the platform. Cora didn't seem too fussed. "There are two paths you can go from here... the same two paths you were given in life. The path of the heroes... and the path of the villains. You cannot circumvent the law, but you can delay for as long as you are capable... lying, cheating, tricking, bargaining... until you are ready to make that choice, you stay here. Unless of course, someone makes you face Death... and let him decide. Tell me Rumple... are you ready to face Death? Are you ready to leap into the flames?"

Gold snarled. "Alright, alright, you've made your point! What do you want?!"

"What we all want. To circumvent the law."


	2. Chapter 2

Gold and Cora wandered the desolate streets of the Underworld replica of Storybrooke. An atmosphere of fear permeated the town. There were no loud voices, no music, nothing to signify life apart from the few scurrying souls with unknown goals in the shadows. Cora seemed to be the only one with a sense of purpose still inside her. Gold knew he had to start there.

"If you want me to help you move on, I'm going to need to know how this world works. What are the rules and more importantly, what are the boundaries. And who's in charge around here?"

Cora kept her eyes ahead. "I'm the mayor here."

Gold chuckled. "Ohh... and I suppose that makes you the one in charge?" He stopped Cora by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Regina was the mayor in Storybrooke. But I was the one who created the curse and I was the one who led to its demise."

Cora smiled at him. "Well, unfortunately, this won't be as easy as dropping a bottle down the well. This town is not a curse... it's more like wallpaper to disguise the bars we're kept in."

"Not for long, if you'll tell me where I can find the jailer. Names _are_ my speciality, if you recall."

"So is predicting the future and being immortal, and yet, you still ended up here." Cora pointed out.

"Less chatting, more name-dropping, if you don't mind." Gold spat back at her. "Unless of course, my eternal punishment is having to listen to you wax lyrical about the past."

Cora paused and looked at both sides of the street before turning her gaze back unto Gold. "His name is Hades. I presume you've heard of him."

Gold had indeed. Hades was a boogeyman in the Enchanted Forest, a mischievous God enthralled by decay. It was said that he appeared to lost souls at the moment of their demise, prolonging their deaths to his own glee. Many fools had thought of Gold himself as a reincarnation of him, back in his pre-cursed days.

"I have."

"So you know how difficult our situation is. Hades is not like anyone you've ever struck a deal with. We hold no leverage over him and trust me, there are some souls here who have spent centuries trying to discover a loophole."

"And what have _you_ found?" Gold pressed on.

"That's something I won't reveal out in the open. Come on." As Cora walked away, Gold sighed and followed her.

* * *

They didn't share a word until finally arriving at the docks.

"The water that surrounds this town runs from Hades' lair. It's called the River Of Lost Souls. Touch it and everything that you are will become a perpetually tortured husk. That's Olympian magic that as far as we know, not even he can overcome. As long as you stay inside the boat..." Cora pointed towards a non-descript, grey fishing ship. "... you should be safe."

"You think Hades might be interested in me?" Gold asked her, gouging just how much of a threat the Lord of the Underworld could be for him.

Cora shook her head. "Not Hades. Nimue. She, and the other Dark Ones are incensed over your failures, most notably your inability to leave behind a successor for your power."

Gold smiled. "Well, she always was the most fickle of the voices in my head."

"She's a little more than fickle down here."

* * *

As they clambered into the boat, Cora tossed a few coins in the hands of the grizzled, tough-skinned captain, who bowed and let her and Gold down into the cabin. Gold gave the captain an amused glance.

 _Now there's a real pirate._ he thought. _Not like that circus fool, Hook._

As he was about to follow Cora downstairs however, a ragged boy ran across the deck towards Gold, pursued by one of the sailors, almost as brutish and ugly as the captain himself. "Stop him!" The sailor shouted and with a flick of his fingers, Gold caused the boy's legs to fly upwards, causing him to do a somersault in the air and land harshly onto the floor.

Gold grinned smugly as he recognised the child lying beneath his feet. "Hello, papa." he muttered, so that only the boy could hear him.

Gasping for air, Peter Pan looked up with fear. "Rumple!"

Before he could get another word out though, the sailor grabbed him by the arm and forced him up. "So sorry, sir. The little brat's only recently deceased." the sailor apologised.

"Rumple, tell them who I am!" Pan demanded.

At the commotion, Cora climbed back out of the cabin. "Is there a problem?"

Gold was the first to speak. "None whatsoever." He stared cruelly into his father's eyes. "This is just one of the many who died because of me. No distinction. He's all yours, captain."

"Rumple!" Pan screamed. "You can't do this!"

Grinning, the sailor dragged him away. "Gotta teach the little cub some manners, eh?!" The boat filled with laughter.

* * *

Cora and Gold finally descended into the cabin. It was a dirty room, filled with hammocks and with a large wooden table for eating and playing cards in the middle. The two sat down on the opposite sides of the table.

Knowing that Cora will have the boy questioned regardless of what he says, Gold got to the truth straight away. "That boy out there is my father. He's also utterly useless to you. I wouldn't pay a ransom for him and he's not as skilled or experienced in different forms of magic as I am."

Cora smiled enigmatically, keeping the information in mind. "Well, never mind about him now. Our problem is Hades."

"You mean, _your_ problem is Hades." He raised a hand to stop her from speaking out. "I may not be ready to move on just yet, but I assure you, I've got no intention of going back to Storybrooke. Once you find your way out, you can leave the dagger behind and we'll never have to meet again."

Cora pursed her lips. "Deal. Now, shall we begin?

Rumplestiltskin grinned. "Why of course, dearie."


	3. Chapter 3

Peter Pan clenched his jaw as he rubbed the wooden planks of the ship. Having grown up enslaved to a blacksmith, work was not unfamiliar to him, but it was _repellant._ On Neverland, his dreams had literally come true. Finally, a place where he could be master of his own destiny, a child with everything still ahead of him, forever. Finally he would no longer have to listen to the nagging... from the blacksmith, from the villagers, from the soldiers, from his wife and especially from his boy. He needed no one, but himself and his friends. Why can't life be fair?!

Because _magic always comes with a price_. Three hundred years was a very long time, but at the end of it, he had to give up his power and wake up from the dream. To circumvent that part of the bargain, he'd hunted through the realms for the heart of someone so in tune with magic that he could change the laws of nature. Ironically enough, that lad had been his own descendant, Henry. But young Rumplestiltskin, in a moment of ridiculous self-sacrifice, had killed them both rather than just be the Dark One and live forever with him.

The next thing he knew was the foul swearing and manhandling. Completely disoriented, Pan found himself among the many prisoners of the souls that had come to wield power in this... psychotic Storybrooke for the damned. Inside the mines, they had been given assignments to work in different areas of the town. Rumple, on the other hand, had somehow made enough friends to get out of the dirty work. Well, so could he.

Pan approached one of the other deckhands, a haunted-looking boy with dark hair dressed in a ragged black jumper. He'd have been handsome, if it were not for the fear and the grime. "Hey!" Pan hissed. "Hey!" The boy blinked and locked eyes with Pan. "We need to get off this ship. Do you know a way?"

The haunted boy shook his head. "There-there is no way off the ship. You can't escape." He went back to mopping, but Pan grabbed his hand.

"Then we'll find one." He said with confidence. "But I need your help. What's your name?"

"OI!" The aged captain shouted, his wrinkled face scowling. "Shut your pipes and back to work!" Pan nodded, acting docile. The haunted boy gave him a curious look.

* * *

"Alright, I'm listening." Gold said with a blank expression on his face. Two cups of coffee wafted on the rough wooden table between them. "What exactly do you think I can do to convince the Lord of the Underworld to give you a free ticket to Olympus?"

Cora shook her head. "There is no convincing Hades. You have to make him want to do it. And for that, we're gonna have to do a little bit of theatre." She waved the Dark One's dagger and transformed Gold into his traditional Enchanted Forest incarnation, consumed by the Darkness. "Mmm." Cora hummed. "That's better. Mr. Gold might be a cunning businessman, but Rumplestiltskin is a _demon_. The perfect villain to challenge Hades' throne. Don't even pretend like you don't want to."

Rumple scoffed. "Well, I was going to employ just a touch more subtlety! But then... you're not expecting me to actually do it."

"No one can do it. But Hades's vanity will lead him to retaliate against anyone who tries. Supposing that I were the one to stop you... I'd be rewarded with anything I desire."

"Whilst I will be left to deal with the other Dark Ones _and_ a vengeful God on my back." Rumple said accusingly.

Cora stroked the Dark One's Dagger. "You're a clever little imp, you'll find a way out."

"Perhaps..." Rumple mused. "but picture this: in the event that you do make it to Olympus, what'll be there waiting for you? Do you think all those heroes will just idly smile and sit by as a murderess walks past them? That Zeus will give you a medal for being an exceptional goody two-shoes? If Hades can send you there... what's to prevent Zeus from sending you right back, maybe even not into the Underworld... maybe he'll just send you to Hell where you belong."

Cora scowled and pointed the Dagger at him. "Anything's better than rotting in this ghost town for all eternity. I'd rather take my chances with Zeus than Hades. Now, Dark One, I command thee... go and find the worst of the worst. Get the rumors out that Rumplestiltskin is here and recruiting to build a resistance. Get the ball rolling."

"As you wish. But don't say I didn't warn you, dearie!"

In a plume of purple smoke, Rumplestiltskin vanished.

* * *

He materialised in a recreation of his own Storybrooke pawn shop. Behind the counter stood a nervous-looking nun, who gasped as she saw and recognised him. "Rumplestiltskin."

The Dark One held out his arms in a mockery of a surprise. "Nova the loveless Fairy! Enjoying my shop, are you?"

"I was protecting the artifacts you have in here. B-but now that you're back, I can leave, I can-!" She stammered desperately.

Rumple held his hand up to silence her. "Don't. Even. Bother. Unless you want to spoil all the good work my boy did in turning me into a hero, I suggest you buzz out of here before I use this on you." He took a water pistol out of the breast pocket of his leather jacket, loaded with water from the River Of Souls. Nova, clearly recognising the threat, dashed out of the door. Rumple then began to ransack his shop for anything useful that might help him against Hades. Cora might consider him undefeatable, but the Dark One knew that every conscious individual had an array of strengths and weaknesses. His job would be to find Hades's and exploit it, for real. As the Lord of the Underworld, Rumple figured he would then have enough power to retrieve the Dagger from Cora or even separate himself from its hold forever.

In any case, he had no intention of becoming the Underworld's number one fugitive whilst the arrogant miller's daughter enjoyed cakes and tea on Olympus.


End file.
